Flu Causes Long Waits at Area ERs

A deluge of flu cases has prompted The Ottawa Hospital, urgent care centres and medical clinics to issue this appeal to patients: be patient.

The Emergency Rooms at the Ottawa Hospital report 50 to 60 more visits daily to the General and Civic sites. Most of those patients are arriving with flu. The Hospital also says it is seeing as many as 30 patients arriving by ambulance every day. The influx has prompted long waits for medical attention at hospitals and clinics.

Some medical clinics are closing doors earlier in the day due to high volumes of patients arriving with flu-like symptoms. Several long term care facilities report outbreaks.

In a statement on its website, the Ottawa Hospital says, “Patients with the most serious cases will continue to be seen on an urgent basis and individuals with serious health concerns should continue to present to our Emergency Departments.”

Ottawa Public Health has recorded a total of 201 lab confirmed cases of flu this year, 13 new cases in the last 24 hours. 4 people in Ottawa have died from the flu this season.